The Missed Market

Race, age, gender, education and income. These are the prisms
through which we typically view demographics. In this month's cover
story, Senior Editor Rebecca Gardyn asks whether sexual orientation
should be added to the mix. In â€œA Market Kept in the
Closet,â€? (page 36) Gardyn says that some U.S. companies have
begun to recognize gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT)
Americans as a consumer segment. However, a lack of consistent and
comparative data on this group's spending habits and media
preferences is creating a blind spot for businesses. â€œNo one
knows, for instance, what percentage of gay men regularly watch
NBC's Will & Grace, which features a gay lead
character,â€? Gardyn writes. â€œNor do they know how that
percentage might compare with other audience segments or with the
audiences of other TV shows.â€?

Some marketing experts contend that sexual orientation
influences consumer behavior â€” just as significantly as a
person's age, gender and ethnicity. Yet, for various reasons
â€” methodological, political, emotional â€” the research
data that compares the buying or media trends of other demographic
segments does not yet exist for the GLBT population, estimated at
anywhere from 11 million to 23 million Americans. As a result of
this data drought, advertisers who have identified the GLBT market
as a potentially lucrative one are commissioning their own
proprietary studies â€” when they can afford to do so. Such an
approach does little to make precise information about this group
widely available. Still, what we do know makes this a desirable
market to target. By some estimates, the GLBT population wields
some $340 billion in annual discretionary spending.

Also in this issue, we reexamine another type of
â€œalternativeâ€? lifestyle: the growing number of married
couples choosing not to have children. It's a trend we identified
eight years ago. In â€œPlanning No Family, Now or Ever,â€?
(October 1993), we noted that the Census Bureau predicted that 13
percent to 15 percent of women age 35 to 39 wouldn't have children.
Today, census figures show that 19 percent of all women between the
ages of 40 and 44 are childless. What's more, in relation to total
married couples, the number of households without children is
actually on the rise, notes Associate Editor Pamela Paul in
â€œChildless by Choiceâ€? (page 44). In 1970, 71 percent of
all households were married couples, of which 30 percent were
childless. In 2000, 53 percent of households are married couples;
29 percent are childless. Says Paul: â€œDespite our country's
obsession with family values, more couples are opting out of the
club. But childless couples say they are either overlooked or
looked down upon by society and businesses.â€?

According to an exclusive analysis conducted by Third Wave
Research for American Demographics, having fewer mouths to
feed means that childless couples spend much more money on
themselves, across all consumer categories. That's why some
marketers are already taking notice.